Tomorrow is the day to VOTE FOR EARTH by turning off lights (and all other electronic gadgets) for one full hour. The opposing candidate is, of course, global warming. The exact benefit of this worldwide action is difficult to quantify. The WWF admits it cannot measure the resulting decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. And whether it will SIGNIFICANTLY reduce global warming is debatable. In fact, as I was looking for information about it on the Internet, I came across sites that consider the activity to be actually counterproductive or not worth it (try googling “is earth hour worth the effort”). But then, the WWF says “the event’s aim is to create a public show of support for the world’s leaders to create an international agreement to combat climate change.” So there, the activity is less about actually reducing carbon emissions and more on raising awareness of the threat of global warming, and, with millions of people doing it around the globe, call the attention of world leaders on the urgency of the issue.

We in the first district of Ilocos Sur had to endure a 15-hour brownout about two weeks ago; come to think of it, this is already worth 15 years of Earth Hour! I guess we now can claim exemption from the activity tomorrow, huh. But let’s join the effort anyway, even just to help make a statement that will reverberate across the globe and drive home the point to our world leaders who are poised to move on to the second period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. And we shouldn’t end it after the hour has passed; if we do so by returning to our energy-burning activities after we switch on our lights back, that will render the collective activity futile. Collecting signatures, joining street campaigns, parading posters to help solve global warming is not enough; we must complement our commitment with our very own efforts. At the risk of sounding cliche, walk the talk.

It maybe difficult to convince people to do more to save energy if they don’t directly benefit from it. True, it will reduce carbon emissions, but what’s in it for the ordinary person? The key is for them to realize that they do reap the benefits. Let’s vote for earth everyday by opting for simple yet doable and effective energy-saving choices: walk or ride a bicycle if possible (good for your health); unplug appliances when not in use (saves 25% of your electric bill); choose fuel-efficient cars (you spend less on gas); drive at lower speeds – hard brakes consume more gas (again, you spend less on gas and you avoid getting hurt in accidents). I’m sure there are more ways to do it. If we can help the earth by avoiding unnecessary or excessive use of electricity and gas, let’s. Because we’ll also be helping ourselves.

Filed under: Environment, March 2009 | You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.